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Barcelona chief drops two transfer bombshells in revealing interview
Tom Weber
- Updated: 30 Sept 2025 17:30 BST
- 5 min read
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Barcelona sporting director Deco has raised eyebrows with his comments on Nico Williams, Joan Garcia and Marc-Andre Ter Stegen.
The Blaugrana are coming off an eventful summer transfer window in which they signed three high-profile players. Marcus Rashford arrived from Man Utd, Roony Bardghji from Copenhagen and goalkeeper Joan Garcia from rivals Espanyol.
The latter deal was certainly an eye-catching one, for numerous reasons. Barcelona managed to beat several Premier League suitors to the signing of Garcia, and they convinced him to cross the city divide.
Current ETV
Joan García
GK
Barcelona
Joan García
GK
Barcelona
ETV Range
€23M - €28.1M
What's more, this transfer caused a huge stir as it meant that club captain Marc Andre Ter Stegen was essentially relegated to the status of third-choice goalkeeper. He was repeatedly linked with a summer departure but ultimately opted to stay.
Ter Stegen's exit wasn't the only move that didn't come off, with Athletic Club star Nico Williams publicly trying to engineer a transfer to Catalunya, only to change his mind when it became clear that Barcelona might not be able to register him.
Deco breaks silence on Williams, Ter Stegen sagas
Speaking in an exhaustive interview with Mundo Deportivo, Blaugrana sporting director Deco has now sought to set the record straight on the Ter Stegen and Williams sagas.
Regarding the former, the ex-Chelsea star insists Barcelona never tried to force Ter Stegen out and even went so far as to suggest that he would be playing over new No.1 Garcia if he were fit right now.
"Too many problems have been created here where none exist," Deco explained. "First of all, Marc is a great goalkeeper, captain of the team. He has a history at the club that we respect and value, and he can still make history because he's 33, and that's not an advanced age.
"The issue is that it wasn't because of Marc. When he got injured, we realised we had too few goalkeepers and we had to turn to goalkeepers, something that wasn't in our plans. We wanted a young goalkeeper. If we had been looking for one for immediate results, we would have looked at a 28 or 30-year-old.
"Why a young one? Because he can give you a present and a future. That was the idea with Joan. That's how it is. What happens here is that the issues become bigger than they really are.
"The thing is, there's nothing for Marc in our plans right now [regarding a January move away]. We're having goalkeeping issues... If Marc were available, he'd surely be playing. He has a contract, and that's how it is."
Deco has also raised eyebrows with his comments on Williams. He claims that Barcelona never actively sought to sign him but that they only agreed to explore a deal because his agent kept pushing for the move.
"Nico wasn't the exact profile we wanted, but he can play on the left and the right... If a great player like Nico asks us to come, when the agent looks for us, we'll talk, and that's how it was.
"Football is like that; the player, for whatever reason, didn't want the conditions that were proposed. The agent has his interests, and we don't know how things are going, but there's no controversy. It's a very easy matter."
Athletic Club took exception to Barcelona's attempts at signing Williams and issued public statements condemning the actions of the Blaugrana, which Deco appears bemused by.
"We didn't seek out their player, we didn't go after their player," he said. "They have to worry about the agent, who has come to Barca several times to offer the player. It's not a club issue.
"If one of our players gives his agent permission to talk to other teams, we can't get angry at the others about it. We're moving on. He's a Bilbao player. It's a very simple situation."
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